With the World at My Feet
by fixati0ns
Summary: AU. The Wayne's Wonders Traveling Circus was home to some of the most talented performers and jaw dropping spectacles the world had ever seen, and he'd been living with them since the age of eleven. But somehow Wally was left stupefied by this new trapeze artist with the annoyingly long hair and inhuman upper body strength. Spitfire.
1. Texas

It's a funny thing actually, he thinks from time to time, because on Thursday evenings like this, _normal_ kids his age would be preoccupied with something like studying, or chores, or mundane things that teenagers usually fret over. And then he usually thinks about how silly it is to be wondering what that kind of life must be like, because there's no place else he could picture himself, really.

As Wally West peered through the red and white candy striped curtain separating the ring, and all the patrons it held, from the hectic backstage of the Wayne's Wonders Traveling Circus, he had to smile to himself in the midst of the chaos buzzing around him.

Tonight's show was nearly half over, which he was grateful for considering it was their last show in Texas, and despite the fact that everything before the audience's eyes was absolutely dazzling in every way, the conditions on the opposite side of the curtain were just that: Opposite.

"_West, where the fuck is the body glitter?!_" Wally jumped and faced a frantic Diana, or Wonder Woman as she was referred to, towering above him. She had what Mister Wayne liked to call an "Amazonian" stature...

Wally refrained from cracking a grin and promptly answered, "Second makeup table, bottom drawer. It should be overflowing with the stuff."

She gruffly nodded and began toward the makeup stations.

"By the way, Clark was looking for you. Him and Conner just finished their act and are in need of some ice packs."

"On it." Wally murmured, glancing through the curtain one last time at the overjoyed crowd before making his way to the ice box.

_Ice packs? More like ice bergs. Those guys have too many muscles for just a pack or two…_ He thought to himself.

His job wasn't easy. As backstage manager, the youngest one the circus ever had, he was responsible for making sure everything ran smoothly during the performances. It was a pretty daunting task for a sixteen year old, but then again there were kids in Wayne's Wonders that were even younger than he was, and they weren't even stagehands like him...

He passed his Aunt's workstation in the makeup tent on his journey for ice and chuckled at the sight of the young redheaded woman with bright colors splattered and smeared across her arms, face, and shirt, with a million bobby pins being held in her mouth. She was painting a thick layer of eyeliner on Barbara, an AcroBat, when she noticed Wally passing by.

"Wally, hon, please be careful when you handle the thermite in Barry's torches!" She mumbled in an overbearing motherly tone through the metal in her mouth, frantic as well from the wave of faces she'd had to cover in makeup for the past two hours.

"Thermite is only harmful when exposed to open flame Aunt Iris, I'm not lighting those monsters up anytime soon." He rolled his eyes, because he has this exact conversation with Iris pretty much every night.

"Whatever." She responded, grumbling a "smartass" from under her breath when he continued his trek, a smirk reaching the corner of his lips.

Wally's parents had died in a plane crash when he was very young, nine to be exact, and he'd never had a real family outside of his Aunt Iris until he began traveling full time with Wayne's Wonders. Wally had been living with the circus for about five years now, his aunt Iris was a makeup artist that had started working at the circus as a summer time gig to make a little extra money for her and Wally, but ended up meeting and eventually getting married to Barry, Wayne's Wonders resident firebreather. Wally genuinely liked Barry, he was an honest and kind man who adored his aunt and never made him feel out of place at Wayne's Wonders. He even tried to teach Wally the basics of firebreathing and all the science to it that Wally liked the most, but Iris had put a stop to it out of hysterical concern for Wally's safety.

With ice buckets in tow, he finally reached Clark and Conner, or Superman and Superboy, the circus' strongmen. Conner was rubbing at his shoulder with a pained look on his face.

"Trust me son, aches are just a part of the gig; They never really go away." Clark assured the boy.

Conner nodded and raised his blue eyes upon Wally's arrival. Conner was a quiet kind of kid, he was almost eighteen and had been working with his father since he met Clark at the age of ten. He was a moody guy, built like a freaking Hulk despite his age and harboring plenty of angst, but pretty sensitive. Besides Dick, Wally considered Conner to be one of his closest friends.

Dick, known as Robin to everyone, was the youngest of all the kids in Wayne's. He was Bruce's adopted son, and one of the most talented gymnasts in the AcroBats act. He was also Wally's best friend, because he was the first one to show the redhead the ropes when he first stepped foot into the circus. All the teens at Wayne's (and there were quite a few of them) were pretty close with one another. It's kind inevitable, the closeness and all, what with being homeschooled together between practicing and performing their talents, and basically just living the majority of their lives with one another. Part of what made Wally love the circus so much was the sense of loyalty (one could almost call it family) that surrounded the atmosphere there.

It sure beat the hell out of living in Blue Valley, fucking _Nebraska_.

Wally, who'd picked up a lot of medical knowledge in his years at Wayne's, sat with his brawny friend near the curtain and helped with the icing and massaging, because he really didn't mind it at all.

Soon enough Kaldur, the Fishboy, finished up his set and entered through the curtain with exhaustion evident on his face and a hearty applause following him. He set himself on the bench beside Wally and Conner and chugged a full jug of water. The three boys fist bumped and chatted for a while about the show, when the crowd began to quiet down to a low buzz as Mister Wayne introduced the next act.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to proudly introduce our newest addition to Wayne's prized collection of Wonders, Artemis!"

Wally's ginger head snapped up from its focus on Conner's aching shoulder, to the slit in the curtain where he saw _her._

A long wave of curled golden blonde hair flowed delicately down over the girl's exposed shoulders, ends brushing the small of the back of her bedazzled, white chiffon babydoll dress as she waved from her perch on the hanging trapeze bar in the center of the ring. She looked right at home sitting so dangerously high up in the air with just a measly bar to support her.

The lights dimmed, leaving a large white spotlight on Artemis that seemed to just soak up her radiance. Soon she began to swing, like it was just a regular playground swing and not a fifty foot hanging bar hooked into the ceiling, if tents could even have ceilings. As she gained momentum, she managed to twist herself up so she was standing, and did it so rapidly Wally almost didn't see it. There was an almost childlike joy in the way she gripped the ropes, pushing herself back and forth, sailing through the spacious air with wind rushing through her glinting locks.

Wally didn't know much about Artemis, just that she was an amazing aerialist who showed up at the circus not too long ago with Jade, the knife thrower. Apparently they were sisters, Wally'd heard it from Dick. They were also runaways, which wasn't uncommon here (Roy for instance), and they hadn't socialized much at all with anyone in the entire company. Wally could understand part of the reason why, the only reason he hadn't gone to ambush Artemis yet was because she was so beautiful, an intimidating kind of beautiful that rendered the male species vulnerable with just a glance of her wide grey eyes and a twitch of her lips.

That and he was fucking obsessed with her.

It made Wally antsy that he didn't know why this girl had such an impact on his ability to function as a normal human, but he couldn't find himself to be angry or annoyed at her for it at all. He was also unable to flirt with her like he'd done with all the other females around the company, which frightened him a bit.

She kipped herself over, stretching her legs and wrapping them around the ropes to hang upside down while continuing to glide back and forth over the tent, mesmerizing her audience. The train of her flowing white dress followed her movements, making her look like some sort of enchanting apparition.

Wally found himself gripping the icepack in his hand tighter, the cold burning into his skin but not able to bother him while he watched Artemis hang from the swinging bar just by the tips of her toes, managing to make it look so easy with the care-free weightlessness she presented herself with, her face relaxed as if there was no place else she'd be able to find such comfort, such solace and ease...

And then she was hanging from the bar just by the crook of her knee, head and arms thrown back, her hair like a waterfall of liquid gold. She made her craft look so effortless, so easy and alluring with grace and beauty that only a goddess could possess. Her tricks were always so interesting, so completely unique and all her own, and that was probably why she had been gaining so much popularity amongst the crowds each night.

The teen stagehand let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding as she began to wrap up her performance with a full body twist in the air that required her to let go of the whole bar. She was able to catch it just in time, which elicited a few gasps from the audience, but didn't surprise Wally at all. She was damn good at what she did, he'd creepily watched her practice enough times to know.

"Just talk to her already." Conner deadpanned and rolled his aching shoulder. "It's obvious you want to."

Wally smirked and kept his focus on Artemis.

"Con, my friend, these things take time. No need to rush perfection." He glanced at Conner with that saucy glint of mischief in his green eyes and placed a hand to his chest. "I'm perfection, by the way."

Conner shook his head at Kaldur, who just smiled.

"I agree with Conner. She seems rather… Lonely. Maybe you could help her adjust to things around here, introduce her to everyone. Befriend her."

"Yeah, as you may recall, it's tough being the new kid." Dick said, appearing out of literally nowhere and scaring the living shit out of Wally.

"Jesus Christ dude, you need to stop that ninja shit, it ain't cute any more." Wally swatted at the fourteen year old with a scowl.

"Yeah, we already know what you think is cute, Wallman." Dick snickered and pointed to the girl out in the ring, hanging above everyone's heads as she waved.

Wally grumbled and closed the curtain after shoving Dick, in all his bedazzled unitard glory, off the bench. _He's not wrong though…_

* * *

"_Zatara and Zatanna!_" Wally called out as loud as he could in the hustle and bustle of the dusty field surrounding the tent. It was pretty early, and everyone was spending the day preparing for the next stop in the tour. The final performance in Texas was last night and this morning was to be spent packing up and moving onto New Mexico. Wally was excited, Wayne's Wonders had been in Texas for a month now, he was ready for a slight change of scenery. The nomadic lifestyle of Wayne's Wonders hadn't been an easy adjustment to adapt to when he and Iris first joined up five years ago, but he found that traveling all across the world, seeing places that kids his age wouldn't be able to see, it was something Wally really loved about the circus.

His eyes skimmed the clipboard as he crossed off Superman and Superboy's names from his place in front of the train. He was the stage manager, so of course it was his job to make sure that everyone was present and accounted and ready to go before they moved the whole operation.

_The strongmen are here, so next up is the magicians, then the firebreather, followed by contortion, the fishboy, AcroBats, and then the archer and the knife thrower, who'd decided to share a room for some reason..._ Wally kept skimming until his eyes finally spotted what they'd been searching for.

_Trapeze._

He'd be a rotten liar if he said his heart didn't do a small jump at the simple word.

"Here, West." Zatanna suddenly appeared in front of him, breaking him from his lovelorn thoughts before they could really even begin. She had that signature, mischievous half-smirk on her face (the kind that little prepubescent trolls like she and Dick wore on a regular basis), with her fist on her cocked hip. Her father was right behind her, handling their luggage.

"Hey there Zee." Wally said. His lack of enthusiasm was apparently blatant enough for Zatanna to pick up on, despite the forced cheeriness he tried to exert in his tone.

"Something wrong?" She quirked a brow, side stepping a distressed performer with a giant prop bin just in time without ever moving her piercing eyes from Wally's. "You seem a bit down."

"Nothing's wrong." Wally stated while straightening himself, internally wincing when his voice cracked a bit. "I'm just tired."

"I can see why..." She mused, surveying the frenzied performers as they scurried about the vast field. "Everyone is pretty amped up for New Mexico. I think it's just because we're all counting down the weeks 'till California."

Wally grinned a bit. California was always everybody's favorite stop.

"I know I am. Did'ja bring your bikini this time, Zee?" Wally half-heartedly crooned, waggling his eyebrows. Behind Zatanna, Zatara's overprotective father ears picked up Wally's comment, and he sent glare burning into the boy's skull. Wally ignored him.

Zatanna laughed. "Sure did. But not for you."

Wally fake pouted and sighed. "I get it, I get it, you're saving yourself for Birdboy. No need to wound me any more than you already have..."

"Oh I'm sure I'm not the one you're all butthurt over, trust me..." She said cryptically as she grabbed her suitcases and loaded her stuff onto the train, disappearing inside.

Hell, was everyone in on his love life now?

Wally was about to interrogate her thoroughly, but as soon as she'd ambled inside, her head popped back out before he could get a word out.

"Your Aunt is looking for you by the way. She's in the makeup tent."

Zatanna disappeared again, her father following her with one last glare in Wally's direction. Wally sighed and shoved the clipboard off on another roadie before making his way to his Aunt's work station.

Pulling back the curtain of the white tent, Wally walked in. All the makeup tables and vanities were disassembled, the makeup and props and wigs and everything in between were packed up into giant bins, save for two small stools and a large makeup box in the center of the cluttered tent where his Aunt and Megan, the contortionist, sat. Iris didn't even look when he entered, hyper-focused on Megan's eyes with her brush poised critically.

"Wally, finally..." Iris muttered. "I need you to run some stuff over to a performer for me really quick."

"Hi Wally!" Megan chirped, eyes closed.

"Hey Megs." Wally grinned. He used to have a huge crush on the foreign girl when he first started traveling with the circus, and it came to a hasty end when he found out her boyfriend was one of the strongmen. That definitely stopped Wally in his incredibly hormonal tracks. "Lookin' good as always, I see."

Megan chuckled. "Thank you, but I would be nowhere without Iris..."

"Oh please, sugar, you shine brighter than any star in the Texas sky, you don't need any of that makeup shit."

"Wally, focus." Iris said gruffly.

"What's the mission Aunt Iris?" Wally clapped boisterously and rubbed his hands together, eyes flitting about the various boxes.

"I tailored some clothes for this one performer; poor thing barely had anything wearable in her whole bag, which is pretty scarce already, so I kind of took her stuff without permission..." Iris reached over and grabbed a distressed gray duffel bag.

"Aunt Iris!" Wally rolled his eyes. His Aunt was such a sucker for helping people. She got it from Barry, who was so adamant on being courteous of others that he probably could've moonlighted as a superhero.

"I know, I know..." She tossed him the bag, which was considerably light. "I just couldn't help it."

"So who is she?" Wally asked, settling the bag over a shoulder and watching in amusement as Megan made faces at herself in one of Iris' mirrors.

"A new girl." Iris shrugged as she began to gather everything back into her giant makeup box, digging through it distractedly. "She does trapeze, I think?"

Wally nodded, cool and composed on the exterior, raging with nerves internally.

Megan nodded excitedly, causing her shoulder length, auburn locks to bounce. "Yes, she is really pretty aerialist! I introduced myself to her a while ago, but she did not say much. She is very much like sheep, yes?" Megan said unconfidently in her thick Russian accent.

"Sheepish, babe, the term is sheepish." Wally said flatly, anxiety rising in the pit of his stomach and resting uncomfortably in his throat.

"I'm pretty sure she and her sister have been staying in Ollie and Roy's trailer." Iris told him, beginning to move things out of the tent. "Megan, sweetie, would you mind helping me?"

"Of course Iris!" Megan exclaimed, exuberant as always.

"Better catch her before it's too late hon, the train leaves at four sharp." Iris mentioned as she and Megan passed him and left him to his devices.

His thoughts rattled in his ginger head. Taking a deep breath, he secured the bag on his shoulder and began toward Ollie and Roy's trailer, which was all the way on the other side of the camp, near the animal cages.

The whole five minute walk to the trailer, Wally let himself plan out exactly what he'd say to her. He wanted to make sure that he didn't waste this golden opportunity to talk to the mysterious girl he'd been secretly crushing on for the past few weeks. He couldn't mess this up. No way.

He approached the animal cages, which were right next to the spot outside of the trailer where Roy kept his personal archery rage set up. Like everyone else in the circus, Roy was the kind that would get pretty pissy at the sight of somebody handling his equipment, especially without permission. Roy was a bro, but it was debateable with how dramatic he could get. The moody nineteen year old was fiercely protective over his bow and arrows, and was adamant about keeping them untouched by anyone but himself.

But either Roy hadn't told the new girl, or she just didn't care, because Wally stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Artemis, her back facing him as she expertly shot arrow after arrow in the middle of Roy's multiple targets set around the area.

For a moment, he didn't even move. He just stood there, watching her, because he could believe how fucking _good_ she was.

Seriously, where the fuck had this girl come from?

After a solid ten minutes of just standing there and _leering_ at her talent like some sort of voyeur, Wally decided to warn the blonde of both her rather risky actions and his presence, and proceeded to step forward onto the crunchiest leaf imaginable.

God fucking dammit universe.

Artemis promptly whipped around, startled, and much to Wally's surprise had an arrow skillfully aimed at his chest like a damned assassin or something. Wally couldn't help but freeze and hold up his hands in a scared-shitless surrender.

They just stood there, staring at each other with wide eyes the size of saucers, not saying a word for the longest time. Wally was growing more and more concerned as to _why she hadn't moved the arrow away from the direction of his fucking heart yet._

He swallowed thickly, her cat eyes watching the movement carefully.

"I-" He stuttered, not knowing how to detangle this situation. This was so not how he wanted his first meeting with the hot new girl to go. "I-I just-"

"... Will you hold on a second?! Let me pack up the damn practice range first..." Both Wally and Artemis' eyes widened impossibly wider, nearly the size of the moon now, as they heard Roy's frustrated voice approaching.

"Well make it quick Harper, I'm not going to be this horny forever..." An abrasive alto joined in, and Artemis' face twisted in disgust. Wally would've taken the time to appreciate how it was absolutely ridiculous for a girl to look that cute with her eyes all crinkled like that, but only if he weren't literally five seconds away from peeing himself.

It only took a fleeting moment, but this look passed over Artemis' features, an almost pleading one that had her gray eyes suddenly dancing with panic.

"_Do something_." She mouthed to him urgently.

So without thinking, like at all, and completely forgetting about the weapon threatening him at such a close proximity, Wally quickly crossed over to Artemis, pried the bow and arrow out of her grasp, and hastily dropped it to the ground before grabbing her hand and rushing them both into an empty elephant stable. It didn't completely cover them from sight what with the top half just being bars like that of a damn jail cell, so Wally unceremoniously collapsed onto the floor, dragging a frazzled Artemis down with him and covering her mouth with his hand when she let out a little squeak. He winced at the pain in his knees when he dropped himself onto the hay-littered floor.

They stared at each other, absolutely terrified. Roy and the other person stumbled upon Roy's possessions in disarray just outside their hiding place, and as predicted, all hell broke loose. As Roy raged, and the other voice mocked him in boredom and annoyance, Artemis' eyes zeroed in on the bag on Wally's shoulder and familiarity sparked in her eyes, which narrowed and shot back up to his in question. Wally rolled his eyes, more at himself than her, and pled with her silently to just wait until they were in the clear. The blonde huffed as quietly possible and settled herself into a more comfortable kneeling position on the floor. He then let his hand fall away from her mouth, figuring it was safe to do so.

It seemed like hours until Roy finally cooled down and got all his shit together. The whole time Wally and Artemis sat on the stable floor, awkwardly avoiding each other's eyes.

Finally Roy and his guest began to retreat.

"... Are we done here? It's really sad how you coddle that bow like it's a fucking _child_. Totally mood killing, by the way." The feminine voice spat impatiently.

"This stuff is expensive, you'd be reacting the same way if someone touched your knives." Roy's defensiveness laced every word.

"Nope, not likely, because I'm not stupid enough to leave my weapons out in the open for anyone to find, you jackass."

"Jesus, don't get your panties in a twist..."

"I'd have to be wearing panties in order to get them in a twist, _Red_." She purred as their voices faded away.

"God dammit, Jade..."

Oh. So _that's_ the knife thrower. And the reason why Roy isn't throwing a Class A bitch fit about sharing a room with someone on the train. Made sense now...

Wally peered up through the bars on the top half of the stable and sighed in relief when he saw the pair were nowhere in sight. He closed his eyes and sat back down on the floor in exasperation next to Artemis, who hadn't moved at all. Cracking an eye open, he saw that she was staring wide eyed into space, cheeks flushed.

"You all right there, Beautiful?" Wally cringed a bit when the word flowed out of his mouth without permission from his brain.

She didn't move though. Just stared at the ceiling.

"Fuckin' called it..." Artemis whispered, kind of ignoring Wally in favor of her own musings.

"Um..." Wally floundered for a minute. Her voice was raspy and throaty, not anything like he had been expecting it to be. "Called what, exactly?"

Her eyes focused on Wally and she sighed, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her delicate hands, that when Wally really looked at them, were not as delicate as he thought. They were actually rather calloused and rough looking.

"Nothing." She sighed again, letting her head fall back and bump against the stable door, eyes closed. When they opened again, they were a bit brighter, and the corner of her lips were curled ever so slightly upward. "Thanks for, y'know... Acting fast. My sister and I can't really afford to get in any trouble around here, we kind of have no place else to go, so..." When she realized she'd began rambling, she shook her head slowly as if to shake away the nerves. "I owe you one."

Wally grinned at her. "No problem..." Her eyes opened halfway and she gave him a hesitant, unsure smile back.

They sat there awkwardly for a moment, not really sure what to do now. Then Artemis' gaze fell on the bag now in his lap, his eyes going in the direction of hers.

"Oh! I um, myAunttoldmetogiveyouthis." He shoved the bag at her, his cheeks flustered with blush. Damn, this girl...

Artemis surveyed the item, opening it up and rummaging around through it. She held up an old tank top with a freshly sewn hemline, and Artemis fondly admired the article of clothing for a second.

"Wow, she actually managed to fix it..." She mused. Her eyes narrowed slightly and she turned to Wally. "Why did she have my stuff? Where'd she get it anyway..."

Wally ran a hand through his hair nervously and blew out a breath of air. "She kind of... Took it. Without your knowledge."

Artemis nodded thoughtfully. "Is your Aunt Iris, by any chance?"

"Yep." He said, popping the "p".

"Iris is cool." Artemis murmured. "I just kind of assumed, 'cause you both look alike and all..."

"It's the hair." Wally grinned somewhat proudly. "And the eyes. Ginger genes aren't easy to escape."

At this moment Artemis seemed to lock his eyes in a metaphorical death grip. He was too afraid to look away. Her mouth slowly formed into a smirk.

"I'm Artemis." She said suddenly.

"I know." He answered quietly. "Wally."

He stuck his hand out and Artemis shook it.

Huh. Nice grip. Probably from clutching that dangling fucking bar for dear life every other night...

"I know." She responded with that smirk still firmly in place.

"You do?" He didn't mean for it to come out as surprised and _squeaky _as it did.

"Mhm." She nodded, chewing on her lip. "You live with the circus. You also watch me while I practice. Kind of hard _not _to notice."

Wally groaned and buried his head in his hands. "Was it really that obvious." He deadpanned to himself.

"Yep." She said, popping the "p".

He lifted his head and looked at her. Talking to her really wasn't as scary as he assumed it would be, and he wondered why the ever-living fuck he hadn't done it sooner.

They shared a smile before Artemis sighed and hoisted herself off the ground. She brushed the dirt off her shorts and raised a brow at Wally.

"Our little secret?" She said, motioning a perfect hitchhiker's thumb to Roy's now packed equipment that lay outside the stable. He'd taken the extra precaution by storing it all in large, locked trunks.

Wally scrambled up and smoothly ran a hand through his obnoxious red hair, getting it out of his eyes before nodding a bit too eagerly. She nodded once, making a move to exit the stable with her bag in tow, but Wally, _impulsive_ Wally, panicked and grabbed her by the crook of her elbow.

"Y'know, you're really good at archery." He blurted, wishing he could do something other than make a fool out of himself around this girl, who'd frozen at the physical contact. "Like, _professional_ good. How'd you get so...?"

He couldn't seem to finish the statement he'd been stammering out, because she was freaking _staring him down _with this amused look that paired with this smirk, almost like she knew some sort of joke that he'd never be let in on.

And it frustrated him to no end.

"I'm multitalented." Her eyes glinted in a way that was similar to when the sunlight shone against her hair as she turned her heel and left him, breath taken and confused with his head drawing in thoughts about this mysterious newcomer.

"Huh…" He muttered with a grin. And as if lightening struck, he jolted his ass into gear and ran after her.

Because what kind of gentleman would he be if he just left a lady to travel by herself with a bunch of circus freaks for nine hours?

* * *

**Hey there. So I know I usually don't put these author note things in my stories because I think they clutter them up, but I thought I should let all you lovely readers know some stuff.**

**First, that I've been in love with the idea of this story forever and it's taken me months just to must the courage to write it. (I was inspired by the internship I received over the summer at Cirque Du Soleil: Iris working as a techie. My favorite act is trapeze, if you couldn't already tell.) So I decided to put this up as a placeholder for now, until I can really make it better and perhaps add multiple parts to it. I just wanted to get my idea out there, because I love Spitfire as well as the image of everyone having a special circus act. Second, I understand it's ridiculously AU and probably just as ridiculously OOC, but I was too eager to upload it and too lazy to fix it. Third, there are links on my profile for videos of swinging trapeze artists and what it really looks like in person. That's about it, so I'll stop this nonsense. Thanks for reading.**


	2. New Mexico

_New Mexico_

The teenage trapeze artist with the stunning looks and the intimidating eyes was actually not as intimidating as Wally thought. At least two weeks into the five the circus would be residing in New Mexico, Wally found himself talking to Artemis on a more regular basis, and he discovered that she was smart and passionate and funny and witty and a whole bunch of other things that had the members of the circus gravitating toward her. She'd become a permanent fixture in the circus life, and it made Wally feel good to know that he was her first real friend there.

At first she was pretty antisocial, which allowed Wally to usually jabber on about himself and other little frivolous aspects he'd noticed in his sixteen years of life. She never really talked about herself, and he didn't push it because he wasn't really bothered by it.

But then he got into his first fight with her. Up until that point Wally had forgotten about how much he fucking hated secrets.

On a particularly busy day on the campgrounds, Wally found himself sweat-drenched and working away as Mr. Bruce Wayne's bitch for a good eight hours, tending to all the tiring bullshit that the performers and crew would conjure up and unceremoniously dump on Wally to handle. Usually everybody was self sufficient around the circus, but New Mexico was beginning to lose its luster and everyone was just ready to get the hell out of there. And today was especially blistering.

So Wally made his way back from fixing the horrendously broken AC in Dinah's trailer, tiredly returning back to the tent to put the toolbox away and take a little break. It was a simple Wednesday, so everyone just milled about the grounds and did their own thing until showtime tonight.

Now, Wally isn't really a guy that believes in luck. But as he rubbed a grimy hand across his damp forehead and plopped himself into the center of one of the many bleachers surrounding the ring, he had to grin a little and thank whatever force that had let his smidgen of downtime coincide with Artemis' decision to practice her routines.

Artemis sat at the edge of the ring, lacing up the ribbons of her dirty ballet slippers around her ankles. She hummed along to the shitty little radio beside her, probably believing herself to be alone in the barren tent. She wore her hair in a ponytail, which is something he knew she preferred when she wasn't performing.

She got up and began with some stretches, throwing in a few random floor gymnastics moves here and there. Wally was fascinated with the way her toes always seemed to be perfectly pointed, gracefully poised and accentuating her long olive-skinned legs. After warming up a bit on the floor she moved to stand herself up on the trapeze, and the thing about Artemis' trapeze act that set her apart from every other one Wally had ever seen was the frightening fact that Artemis never performed with a cable strapped to her waist like most aerialists, to keep her from hitting the ground in the event of falling off the bar.

She also, for some asinine reason, didn't like using nets below her trapeze, but Bruce was hell bent on keeping his performers safe and required her to use one. Albeit, his circus was renowned for being the most modern-yet-old fashioned circus rivaling Cirque Du Solei, he wasn't that out of his mind. The guy had enough sense to establish at least _some_ safety rules, even though hiring minors wasn't a problem for him in the slightest.

There was an unbreakable focus set in the features of her face as she started to build up a swing, and Wally could swear that a veritable spark ignited in her eyes as she found the exact moment to execute a perfect full body twist before dropping into a catch, nearly scaring Wally shitless. Trapeze was a lot like uneven bars in gymnastics, only with one small bar and way more dangerous due to the fact that it's _fifty feet in the fucking air_.

But as Wally had discovered in the short time he'd known Artemis, she was absolutely _fearless_.

She was very passionate about her art. Wally was actually blown away by the extent of her knowledge concerning physics. He could listen to her tangents for eons, which is probably how long she'd go for and then some.

So that's why his heart jumped into his throat the minute she awkwardly swung out of time and released the bar, nearly missing the catch by one hand. Wally almost shot out of his seat to, as if he'd be fast enough, catch her from falling.

He would smirk and even chuckle at the cliche if he weren't holding his breath out of nervousness.

Artemis allowed herself to take a break after a few more minutes and just sat on the bar, moving back and forth and swinging her feet whilst staring at them intently.

"You don't have to hide anymore Wally. I'm pretty sure we're past that." She said casually with a tiny smirk.

He cursed under his breath because this was like, the millionth time she'd caught him. No matter how quiet he tried to be, it never worked. She noticed literally _everything_.

"Sorry, old habits die hard." He grinned as he walked into the ring, shielding a hand over his eyes and squinting from the harsh lights above their heads.

"Mind helping me down?" She cast a finger in the direction of the pulley rope they used to bring the bar up and down. He complied with her request and she slowly descended to the ground, peeling what seemed to be a giant hunk of skin off her hand.

"Ew. Do you always do gross things in front of a gentleman, or just me?"

"Well I don't see any gentlemen around here, so..." She flicked away the skin and grabbed her jug of water while Wally stared after her, dramatically aghast.

"What are you talking about, there is nobody as gentlemanly as me! I'm always courteous with the ladies!"

"Oh yeah, and it's so courteous to call a lady gross?" She asked, arms crossed and brow cocked.

"Well I don't see any ladies around here." He mocked, sticking his tongue out.

She sent him a glare, before her lips turned up into a smile and she shook her head.

A bout of silence passed between them and he was just staring at her, thinking. Eventually Artemis began to fidget under his super awkward gaze.

"Um... You all right there?"

"What?" He asked dumbly, internally cringing at how weird he must seem to her right now. "Oh, yeah." He tried to nonchalantly shrug it off and fiddled with the hem of his shirt to at least give the _appearance _of knowing how to act in front of a girl. A really pretty girl, in particular.

Artemis nodded and let the awkward silence establish itself, biting her lip and looking around as if the tent itself was extremely interesting.

He observed that she was nursing that huge jug of water like it was a lifeline, and she had been sweating profusely.

"You're hot." He blurted, this time cringing for real.

_Shit._

"What?" Her head snapped to look at him with defensive grey eyes.

"No, I-I mean you _look _hot. You know. Like temperature hot. You're, ah, sweaty." He blushed furiously and resisted his urge to facepalm.

"Oh," She relaxed her tense shoulders and shrugged, wiping the sweat from her brow. "Yeah. I'm not used to desert heat."

At this, Wally's ears perked up. He hadn't really gotten around to asking personal questions yet just because he didn't want to overstep any boundaries. She pretty much knew his life story, but she never really liked to divulge anything beyond her general interests. "No? Where are you and your sister from?"

"East coast." The corner of her mouth turned up a little and she sat herself down on one of the bright red practice mats on the floor.

He moved to sit down beside her. "I meant somewhere less vague." He rolled his eyes.

She elbowed him half heartedly, sucking down that water. "Gotham City."

"No shit, that's where Wayne's began." He said, eyebrows raised with interest. "It's also like, the biggest crime-ridden mecca in the United States."

"Well that's a civil way to put it..." She muttered.

He wasn't really expecting her to answer his question so easily. Artemis was so not down with trusting people, Wally usually was, and it was a little infuriating to him that he couldn't get her to talk more about herself sometimes. That made it harder for Wally in his plight to woo her.

Speaking of wooing.

"What do you say we continue this over some ice cream?" He asked this particular thing because he was getting kind of hungry.

Artemis bit her lip. "I should practice."

But neither her face nor her tone gave away any indication that she really meant it, and Wally grinned a little. She cracked a smile back at him and rose to her feet.

"I have a better idea than ice cream, though." She said with her hands on her hips as Wally stood up.

"Impossible, nothing is better than ice cream." He started, chuckling when she rolled her eyes for like, the millionth time since he'd met her. "But go ahead."

Then she got this serious look on her face and Wally suddenly felt wary.

"Well it's my understanding that you know where the archers keep their equipment, right?" She said it slowly and with each word spoken Wally felt his frown grow deeper.

And for a split second, a little part of him doubted the reality of this friendship he'd formed with her and made him this disappointment cocktail of anger and sadness that he was trying really hard not to swallow.

"Artemis..." He nervously rubbed the back of his neck and quickly scanned the tent to make sure they were alone. "What... What are you getting at?"

She raised a brow. "You know."

"Yeah, I do know, but why?" The edge in Wally's voice was sharp, and he didn't intend it to be, but he was getting pretty steamed. "You're asking me to help you sneak around and use their shit without their permission, and that is a major red flag."

"No it's not, I'm just going to mess around with the range real quick and put everything back when I'm done, they won't even know."

"See, but the fact that you can't even ask them yourself, the fact that you need to be so secretive about such a little thing, _that_ is a red flag to anyone." He wanted to walk away, but for some reason his feet kept him right there.

She sighed and rubbed a hand over her glistening forehead. "Wally, I just need you to trust me-"

"Trust you?" He spat, interrupting her. "That is fucking hilarious Artemis, because you haven't done a whole lot to show that you trust me!"

"_Excuse_ me?" Artemis said with dangerously narrowed eyes.

"I barely know anything about you! You're so closed off, and yet you ask me to break a huge rule around here as if I owe you!" He was really angry now, and Wally rarely got angry.

She looked away from him and nodded weakly, but that stony expression on her face still remained in tact, and it was frustrating Wally to no end. What would it take for this girl to show even a smidgen of emotion? Does he need to burn down an orphanage or something?

"You're right." She whispers it and he visibly relaxes because now there's this flourish of hope in his chest, like he's expecting a huge confession and maybe some hand holding or something of that nature. But Wally knew deep down that it was a totally unrealistic thought.

And it was because next thing he knows she's blushing furiously and muttering a "sorry" and _still not looking at him_, and then she just walks out of the tent like she just set it on fire but the flames haven't reached the point where they're unable to be contained yet.

Wally's pretty sure he feels the sensation of flames engulfing him as he lays himself down on the mat, ear pressed to the radio while he shuts his eyes and tries to quell the emotional teenage storm within him.

* * *

"... Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, the magnificent Artemis!"

Wally snorts from his position at the ground spotlight just at the edge of the ring, and he tries to focus on the task at hand and not his annoyance toward a certain trapeze artist hanging above his head. He shifts the spotlight from Mister Wayne to Artemis, and the heat radiating off of the spot is baking him alive right now so it's a nice distraction from the fact that he can't get over how beautiful her hair looks tonight.

But it only looks that good because his Aunt is a total pro at curling hair, even ridiculous masses of it. Artemis herself has nothing to do with it at all. No way.

The lights dim and the tent is suddenly pitch black save for the circle of white hot light on an equally hot girl. The music starts and she just goes for it; The routine is different tonight because it's faster, the music is more intense, and she's got this countenance of pure and unbridled determination on her face as she swings herself vigorously until she's high enough to let go of the ropes and launch herself over the bar as if she were going to nose dive straight into the ground, but her feet hook the bar in an instant and she's just swinging from her ankles.

Wally found himself on autopilot as he trailed after her with the spotlight because he was watching her performance with such meticulous concentration that he didn't even feel his tired arms moving the light back and forth anymore.

He did however, notice that as she went to catch the bar after a perfect mid-air double twist, one of her hands slipped and she'd unceremoniously caught herself with one hand desperately grasping the bar. Wally found himself gasping in fear along with the audience, and he could see the flash of terror in Artemis' eyes at that exact moment, before it vanished and she pulled herself back up to a sitting position on the bar.

It was also at that moment that he noticed the complete lack of safety net beneath her.

The redhead was now torn between abandoning his post to go alert the tech crew and cut her act off right now, or staying and keeping his eyes on Artemis because she'll be able to make it through this just fine...

... If she stopped shaking so violently, that is.

Her knees began to wobble as she stood up on the bar again to build up a swing, and without a second thought Wally widened his spotlight as far as it could go to make the act not shitty looking in the eyes of the audience before speeding to the tech booth on the side of the ring.

"John! John, we need to cut the act!" Wally frantically screamed to John Smith, their main tech guy who at this moment was giving Wally the most perplexed and annoyed stare.

"Wally what are you doing off your spot, we're less than halfway through this set-"

"John, there is no net under her and she's seconds away from plummeting, you've got to cut it now!"

Then things were happening so quickly, and yet Wally was watching it all in slow motion. John's confused expression turned to one of panic. The crowd began to scream and shout in horror. Wally turned around and saw Artemis in the middle of an unconfident backward flip, and then his feet were propelling him forward while hers didn't even touch the bar to land on it, and neither did her hands.

By some absolutely _unreal_ miracle though, timing ended up being perfect. Wally was quick enough to get himself under the falling blonde in time to catch her at the exact moment John took out the lights and sound.

And you would think that this kind of situation would be romantic, because Wally definitely did, and yet it was kind of not really like that at all.

The sheer force of the speed at which Artemis was falling made catching her extremely painful. Wally's arms actually gave out when she landed in them, and she pretty much fell right on top of him.

But there was this moment, where in the complete darkness of the tent with the crowd loudly erupting in mixed reactions behind them, that Wally experienced something he'd probably never forget. She was lying on his chest and her face was hovering so closely to his, close enough that their labored breathing clouded what little space there was between them. And they just stayed like that, his eyes boring into hers and hers into his, and so many different messages were passed through their gazes in that instant, but he noticed that this sparkle in the gray of her eyes gave away everything that she'd wanted to say to his since their fight two days ago, and he was able to understand it. All through a fucking twinkle of light.

And she breathed a tired, "Thanks.".

And he rasped a, "No problem, Beautiful.".

Then he stood them both up and grabbed her hand to rush her backstage before the lights came back on, where they were met by all the stupefied performers who immediately jumped on the two teens the minute they passed through the curtain.

Sometime after the show, after Dick reminded him for the thousandth time about the badassery of Wally's heroism, the acrobat boy left Wally sitting a bench clutching his already bruising stomach. In the midst of his thoughts, he saw a gleam of blonde in his line of vision stalking over in his direction. He raised his head and smiled when this same blonde set herself down on the bench beside him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

For a minute, Wally was devoid of any thoughts on how to react. Eventually, he returned the hug, pressing his face into her shoulder, inhaling a little.

Artemis placed her lips beside his ear, her hot breath giving him this tingling sensation all over his skin.

"I'm sorry." Her husky voice felt like honey, and Wally's smile reached his eyes. "About everything."

To his complete and total shock, she pressed a lingering kiss on his cheek before she untangled herself from him and walked out of the tent, leaving the redheaded teen with a vibrating elation in the pit of his stomach.


	3. Arizona

_Arizona_

Not only was Miss Dinah Lance a former opera singer, she was also a former college professor. This of course was a fact that stunned Wally when he first arrived at the circus. It was hard to believe that the woman with the vocal chords that could shatter full-length mirrors, doubled as a certified educator.

Since Wayne's Wonders had a fairly large number of teenaged performers, it seemed completely practical that they'd be home schooled through the circus as well. Even though he was required by law to provide it for them, Bruce was still a firm believer that education was extremely important to the development and growth of an adolescent mind.

They usually did their lesson only four days a week, depending on how hectic the schedule was at Wayne's, and Dinah enjoyed having them outside in the openness and beauty of nature, as opposed to the confines of a room.

One thing Wally was totally sure of, was that he'd rather suffer his way through _Hamlet_ in the confines of an air conditioned trailer than out in the heat of Arizona. And judging by the way everyone else seemed to be panting like dogs, he could assume they felt the same.

In times like these the main priority was always comfort, so for class today the boys were all shirtless (and Wally had to ignore the sad fact that he was the only guy there that didn't proudly own a set of killer abs; Just a toned, skinny runner's torso), and the girls opted for sports bras and short shorts with high buns perched on their heads. Artemis was the only exception with her tank top and non-bun status.

"Aren't you dying underneath all that hair?" He muttered to Artemis, who sat next to him in their little study circle.

Artemis was red as a beet, definitely from the heat, and glared at him from underneath her thick blonde locks, which hung loosely all around her, like a lion's mane or a big ass yellow curtain.

"My hair tie broke," She grumbled in annoyance, attempting to shift all of it over one shoulder. "I don't really have much of a choice anymore."

He shrugged and turned his focus to Dick, who sat on his other side. The boy's sunglasses were perched on his nose while he smirked at the doodles he was etching into the margins of his book, which Wally could see when he looked closer, were of two crudely drawn stick figures. One had freckles and was on fire, lying dead with little x's as eyes, and the other stick figure had been drawn with obscene cleavage and a huge mass of hair. It was also frowning.

Wally shot him a confused look, and Dick just grinned and held up his book for Wally to further inspect while he cackled and murmured low enough for only him to hear.

"You're so hot for her that you get heat-stroke and die..."

The redhead scowled and pushed the book away, then proceeded to punch Dick _extremely _fucking hard in the arm, so hard that the smaller boy yelped and gripped his arm, wincing through his laughter.

"Wally!" He snapped his head in the direction of Dinah's chiding, a grimace on her face.

Wally sighed and Dick, being the heinous little shit he is, piped up immediately.

"It's all right Dinah, the heat's just making Wally moody..."

The fucker even had the audacity to snicker at Wally as the rest of the group became distracted from their tasks by the commotion. Wally figured he'd take the opportunity while he had it.

"Well I mean, it's just so damn hot out here, Dee." Dinah raised an eyebrow at how causally he said the nickname, but Wally ignored it. "Can't we take a study break or something? We can't really get much done if we're burning alive out here..."

Dinah considered this, closing her own book and nodding thoughtfully. "That's a fair point Wally. I suppose we can cut class short today." She glanced at her watch. "I actually have to meet with Ollie about our act in a bit anyway, I might as well go right now."

"Perfect." Wally grinned at his knowledge of the _real_ reason she was going to see the resident Emerald Archer, and gave Dick a look that was so smug it nearly hurt.

As everyone began to pack up their school work, Zatanna and Megan offered the idea of going on a hike to some river that probably didn't exist. Conner and Dick immediately accepted since they're such suckers for those girls, but before Wally could groan and reject the idea, Artemis agreed, saying that it sounded fun.

"Seriously? A hike in this weather?" The blonde rolled her eyes at his whining. "You guys are mental, if not dehydrated."

"Please, we've got enough water with us to fill three large swimming pools, it won't be that bad."

"I agree with Artemis, we could actually benefit from such a journey." Kaldur joined in beside Artemis, who gives Wally a victorious smirk.

"It's settled then, let's haul ass." She says as Megan and Zatanna begin to lead the group away from the camp grounds, pushing Wally with a dainty yet really strong hand.

"Shit woman, you don't need to be so rough with the goods..." Wally says, squaring his shirtless shoulders after stumbling a bit. Artemis just throws a wink his way as she passes him and falls in step with Kaldur.

* * *

"Have you ever been in a real school before?"

The question is completely out of the blue, but he doesn't mind it because she seems genuinely interested in hearing his answer.

Wally waded closer to where she sat at the edge of the water, dipping her feet. Artemis seemed to be faring better in the hot weather now, unlike the rest of the teens who hastily stripped and dove into the river the exact second they saw it.

Even though she was the first one to shuck her tank top and shorts and jump off a boulder and into the glistening water (because seriously, it's a fucking river in the middle of Arizona and the place has a shit climate), it appeared that she much preferred lazing off to the side and soaking up the burning hot sun, which Wally was never really a fan of considering his tender, white, ginger skin.

But he rests his head on top of his arms beside her feet, watching her from beneath his shaggy, curled locks and allows himself to part with the refreshing coolness of the river for a bit so he could lay next to her.

He shrugs and takes a swig from the canteen beside her. "Well yeah, sure, but it was ages ago. Iris took me out of school to work here when I was in like, sixth grade maybe."

Artemis nods, biting her lip as she watches everyone frolic in the river. Zatanna was dunking Dick because he had been splashing her nonstop, and this made the blonde smile a little. "Did you enjoy it?"

Wally's nose scrunched up as he tried to remember. "I'd like to think I did. It was a while ago. I know that I had a few friends and we played a lot of kickball and Magic the Gathering."

Artemis smirks at this. "Cute... Y'know, as cute as dweebs like you can get."

He rolled his eyes despite his grin, and playfully elbowed her. "What about you, Miss Thang? Did you ever do the school thing before taking up the runaway thing?"

She glanced at him, eyebrows cocking a bit. "Sure did. It wasn't too bad." She looks at the clear sky wistfully. "Sometimes it was like a really torturous break from the torture waiting for me at home, so I guess that was an upside."

"Ah, right." He nodded, closing his eyes and relishing in the almost soothing way the warmth of the sun heated his back. "All the training and shit for trapeze huh? I hear it basically consumes your life."

She bites her lip and never moves her skyward eyes. "Yeah. Trapeze."

The way she says it makes Wally crack an eye open and suddenly he just feels this really strong urge to take her someplace quiet and tell her all the nice thoughts and feelings he has about her on basically a minutely basis. He wants to kiss her, he wants to wrap her up in his arms and ask her to trust him just a little more, because all he wants is to make that little crease in her forehead disappear because he thinks it makes her look sad sometimes. And Wally really doesn't want her to be sad, because she's too cool for that.

But of course, being the little chicken shit he is, Wally just sits back and convinces himself that now is not the right time to do so.

Instead, she's the one who hops up, kicks him in the side, and forces him up for a few rounds of rock jumping before they head back.

Wally wouldn't admit it to her, but he's absolutely terrified of heights. The only reason he even went through with jumping off those ghastly rocks, was simply because it was a lame opportunity to hold her hand as they leapt into the water together. And the smile she gave him after they resurfaced was totally worth it.

* * *

That next morning he decides to go for a run with Barry, before that dastardly sun even rises.

They used to do it more often when Wally was younger, because it gave them a chance to bond and it was a genuinely enjoyable thing for Wally. Barry really stepped up as the father figure in his life when he lost his parents, and running was one of the many somethings he'd introduced to Wally that ended up really sticking.

It was cool because it was always that great start to the day where he was able to have a clear mind and a sense of focus (Iris was always positive Wally had some form of ADHD but she never got around to taking him to specialist for it). It's a sensation similar to meditation, he always thought, only better because he could delve deep into the corners of his own brain and do it with exhilarating speed, the only focus is his breathing and the Earth beneath him.

But today's different, he realizes, because he's tripping more over his feet and his mind is basically screaming at him about _something_, he doesn't know what, but it makes him feel like there's something important he should be focusing on. It's a weird feeling, and even Barry notices it so he slows them into a light jog as they head back toward the grounds.

"Jesus kid, slow down." He laughs and puts a cautionary hand on Wally's chest to hold him back. "I mean, you couldn't outrun me as a tyke and I highly doubt you can now if you over exert yourself like that."

Wally hadn't noticed until his uncle pointed it out, but he's been breathing harder and unevenly today. He also didn't notice how tired he felt, like he could just collapse into the dirt road right now and sleep.

His jog turns to a walk, a sluggish walk, and he puffs a breath of air harshly. "Sorry Uncle Barry..."

The older man frowns and walks at his nephew's pace. "Y'got something on your mind, kiddo?"

"I'm not sure actually." Wally says unconfidently and stuffs his hands into the front pouch of his hoodie. "Maybe I'm just tired."

"Maybe." Barry says loftily. "Or, maybe you've got something you want to talk about."

"You're probably right." His breathing had gone somewhat back to normal by now. "But why should I tell you...?"

"Because if you don't I'll tell your Aunt and she'll drag it out of you for me. Trust me, it'd be way less painful if we just hashed it out now."

Wally sighed and nodded. "That's a valid argument..." Barry stares at him expectantly and Wally just goes out with it. "How long did it take for you to tell Aunt Iris that you wanted to be more than friends?"

He cringes as the words spew out of his mouth, because of how awkward he sounds saying them. Barry just smiles though and stares at Wally with a knowing glance.

"A long, long time, kid." He chuckles. "That aunt of yours, she was always so crazy busy when she first started hanging around here, I didn't think I could even get a simple hello in. We barely spoke for the longest time, until one night before a show when she was doing my face paint for me and told me that she thought my eyes were the nicest she'd ever seen. I kind of took that moment to just wing it; Say what the hell and go for it, because I didn't want my fear of being rejected hold me back from what actually turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me."

Wally noticed that his uncle's eyes began to glaze over, and while it warmed his heart to see that his aunt ended up with a guy that is and always will be so in love with her, he also began to feel kind of shitty inside for pining after Artemis so hard. Wally _did_ have a fear of rejection, and it was compromising his trust in himself.

"You're not asking me because of Megan, right?" Barry asked suddenly.

"What?" Wally snapped his gaze from the ground to his uncle and shook his head frantically. "No, god no, that ship sailed Uncle B, I-"

"Good, because Clark's kid would snap you like a twig if-"

"Believe me, I've realized this, I am not making any moves on Megan." Wally clarified. He groans and rubs a hand across his face. "It's Artemis."

"Oh, Artemis!" Barry's face lit up like a damn Christmas tree, and Wally was perplexed by his enthusiastic reaction. "She's a real peach Wally, such a polite girl. Good choice, kiddo."

Wally's face was a cross between horror and complete bafflement. "Um... Are we talking about the same person? As far as I know there isn't more than one Artemis around here..."

"Uh, blonde, does trapeze-"

"Yeah, never mind, that's her." Wally cut him off curtly. "When have _you _ever talked to Artemis?"

"She regularly drops by to help Iris with errands and whatnot. She and your aunt have struck up a pretty great friendship actually."

"Great." Wally deadpanned, which made Barry smile in amusement.

"C'mon kid, don't be an ass. I'm not a psychologist or anything, but if I were, I would guess that she's not used to having friends, or at least being around nice folks like us. She's probably scared" Wally scoffed internally at the notion of Artemis being scared of anything. "because she's in a new place with new people and it's hard to be integrated into a life like this. Of all people, you would understand that the most." Wally didn't say anything, just nodded as their feet kicked up the dust in sync. "So what if she finds a new friend in your aunt, at least she's feeling welcomed."

"I guess... But I'd say I'm a pretty good friend to her."

"Well not if your hiding something as big as feelings from her." Wally doesn't have a response to that, and Barry sighs, clapping a hand on his shoulder and squeezing a little. "Just tell her Wally. Even if she doesn't feel the same, you'll still feel better if you do."

For the rest of the day, Wally spends time with Artemis. They go do their schoolwork together next to that river they found yesterday, and he decides that if he can make her laugh at least fifteen times by the end of the day, he'll tell her how he feels in California, where the circus will be in exactly six days.

He makes her laugh approximately twenty-three times by midnight.


End file.
